EDITORIAL: Board open to community input, give it to them

Posted 5/6/10

In last week’s Independent, in the story “AuGres-Sims discusses cuts,” AGS Board Chairman Robert Lutz said the board was open to community input on what the district should cut, eliminate or change to save money next year.

So let them hear it!

If a consensus can be found between parents and the school district on where AGS should make cuts, then everyone can truly feel like the measures were made with the best interest of the students and district in mind.

But, in the next couple of months, if the board members and staff are the only ones at the AuGres-Sims Board of Education meetings, there will be no consensus. There will be no community input.

However, there will be anger. There will be people who feel like something at the school district that they hold close to their heart was cut. They will say something else should’ve been cut.

What results afterward will surely be division and infighting.

So, if you think athletics are a waste of money, tell the board. If you think a particular class is just an hour for students to “goof off,” tell the board. If you don’t want to see anything cut, tell the board. Maybe you want the district to revisit consolidation — tell the board.

Rarely does a school board start looking at cuts with a blank slate and open mind. There were several items in last week’s story that were mentioned as cost-cutting measures — transportation cuts, elimination of positions, consolidation, privatization of the athletic director position — and that’s just a few of the suggestions.

For the most part, though, it appears that the board is going into the budget-reduction process with open eyes and open ears.

It’d be a shame if your idea for saving the district money wasn’t heard.